Tesla Model X Set for February Reveal

Just the Facts:

• The first prototype of the Tesla Model X, which is being described by the company as "pretty revolutionary for the SUV segment," will be unveiled on February 9 at the Tesla Design Studio in California.
• The update on the Model X was provided in a Tesla investor conference call on Tuesday, which also tackled concerns about executive changes at the company and ongoing concerns about battery safety in the auto industry following the problems with the Chevrolet Volt.
• Tesla also said that it has sold out of its $77,400 2013 Model S Signature edition, months before the commercial launch of its first mainstream car.

PALO ALTO, California — The first prototype of the Tesla Model X, which is being described by the company as "pretty revolutionary for the SUV segment," will be unveiled on February 9 at the Tesla Design Studio in California.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed in an investor conference call on Tuesday that the Model X will be revealed at a media and investor event on that date. "We will be unveiling kind of an SUV," Musk said. "It's pretty revolutionary for the SUV segment. I don't want to give anything away for the event. This is the first prototype. It is derived from the (Tesla) Model S platform. We will do test rides (but not test-drives)," he said.

In a May 2011 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said it planned to reveal the Model X by the end of 2011. The filing said that Tesla is "designing the Model X to incorporate the functionality of a minivan with the consumer appeal of a sports-utility vehicle." It noted that the electric powertrain developed for the Tesla Roadster "has provided the foundational technology for the Model S, the Model X and for electric powertrain components that (Tesla) has begun selling to Daimler and its affiliates that (Tesla) intends to sell to Toyota."

In an interview in 2010 with Greentech Media, Musk said the Model X would be launched in 2014, about two years after the mid-2012 launch of its midsize 2013 Model S sedan.

The update on the Model X came during the wide-ranging conference call, which also tackled concerns about executive changes at the company and ongoing concerns in the auto industry about battery safety following the problems with the Chevrolet Volt. The electric-car startup also said that it has sold out of its top-of-the-line $77,400 2013 Model S Signature edition, months before the commercial launch of its first mainstream car.

Tesla said it plans to start a waiting list for the Model S Signature edition, which has an 85 kWh battery pack and a 300-mile range. The Model S is scheduled for a July rollout.

"The Model S and Model X are on track," Musk said. "Customers will be really blown away when they receive the cars. Many customers have bought (the Model S) without actually ever sitting in it. We couldn't be happier."

Tesla said it had received 8,000 reservations for the Model S by the end of 2011 and noted that the strongest week for reservations was the week that pricing was announced in late December.

The automaker said it plans to add eight to 12 new retail showrooms in the U.S. this year in "high-profile locations," including Boston and New York.

Musk spent a significant amount of time during the call explaining key executive changes at Tesla that rattled Wall Street on Friday. Peter Rawlinson, a Tesla vice president and engineer, and Nick Sampson, director of vehicle and chassis engineering, left the automaker earlier this month — leaving investors wondering about the impact on the launch of the Model S and Model X. The two were replaced by Jerome Guillen, formerly an engineer with Daimler AG, and Eric Bach, a former Volkswagen AG executive.

Musk said the departures were unrelated to "any significant disagreement with respect to Model X or Model S."

"We're entering a new phase of Tesla's existence in the run-up to high production, and the skill set provided by Jerome and Eric is better suited to this phase of the company's existence," Musk said. "We're just going through a different stage of maturity essentially. I made a mistake in not communicating (the departures)."

Musk was asked by an analyst from Deutsche Bank whether there are any changes or concerns about Tesla's vehicles following "concerns that have happened relative to (the Chevrolet) Volt." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the risk of post-crash fires in the Volt, and General Motors earlier this month detailed changes to the vehicle structure and battery coolant system in the Volt and Opel Ampera to protect the battery from the risk of electric fire after a crash.

"We haven't been crowing about the success of our safety on the (Tesla) Roadster, but it is pretty impressive," Musk said. "We have 2,000 cars in 30 countries and several that have been in pretty crazy accidents that were not the fault of the vehicle. There's never been a serious injury — touch wood — in a Roadster and there's never been a battery-pack fire."

"It's gone very well on the battery safety side and safety overall. I don't want to tempt fate. With respect to the battery pack in the Model S, there will be continued refinements for the next two-to-three months. We're always looking to make it as good as possible. We're testing things that are extraordinarily unlikely. The battery pack has a quarter-inch of plating. It could protect you from an IED (improvised explosive device)," he said.

Inside Line says: Tesla's Elon Musk tackles lots of tough questions, working to reassure doubters that the automaker is just going through some growing pains as it strives to become more mainstream.